Galadriel listened to Ellana as she reprimanded Fëanor, as she championed the need for restoration, for moving forward without despair, and she was silent for a long while. Ellana knew more of Middle-earth than most who dwelt in Thedas, and now she knew a great deal more of the Noldor than any mortal in Middle-earth. For all she represented, for all that the Dalish mirrored the inevitable fate of the elves Galadriel had left in Arda, she was bright and keen and full of hope. Hope for herself and, somehow, hope for Galadriel as well.
Though she had fallen into this world unexpectedly, Galadriel had not come unarmed. Nenya was too grand a secret for this place, her need of it was too desperate to share, and the tale that accompanied the rings was unfinished and filled with woe. Fortunately, Nenya was not the only object that she had kept as she passed through the Fade and, in this moment, the star-glass would serve her far better than her ring.
"The light that Fëanor captured was hallowed by Varda herself. It was the light of the two trees that lit the world, and though they were destroyed, the treasures that held their light were not. One of them rises with the evening, adorning the twilight sky, and it is our most beloved star."
She set aside her staff and it settled heavily on the ice. The waters that rose from the river, dark and foreboding, lapped quietly at the jagged edges of the hole in the ice. Apart from the water and the distant crackle of mountain cold, the Emprise was silent and still. Galadriel reached into her leather armor and withdrew from it a crystal phial bound in lines of gleaming, white silver.
"This is the Light of Eärendil, and it carries within it some of that hallowed starlight," she explained and, very delicately, held the glass out to Ellana. "I crafted it, so that it might light a very dark path for a very unfortunate soul. I keep it with the hope that I might still give it to them, though I am becoming uncertain I will have the chance."
She looked up from the glass and stared at the Dalish elf at her side. The smile that glanced across her face was slight but honest.
"You do not need this light, not truly, and I cannot give it to you while it is still needed elsewhere. It is not of your empire, but it is a piece of the very heart of the Eldar. If it can grant you some reminder of elvendom, some hope, I would see that hope kindled."
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Though she had fallen into this world unexpectedly, Galadriel had not come unarmed. Nenya was too grand a secret for this place, her need of it was too desperate to share, and the tale that accompanied the rings was unfinished and filled with woe. Fortunately, Nenya was not the only object that she had kept as she passed through the Fade and, in this moment, the star-glass would serve her far better than her ring.
"The light that Fëanor captured was hallowed by Varda herself. It was the light of the two trees that lit the world, and though they were destroyed, the treasures that held their light were not. One of them rises with the evening, adorning the twilight sky, and it is our most beloved star."
She set aside her staff and it settled heavily on the ice. The waters that rose from the river, dark and foreboding, lapped quietly at the jagged edges of the hole in the ice. Apart from the water and the distant crackle of mountain cold, the Emprise was silent and still. Galadriel reached into her leather armor and withdrew from it a crystal phial bound in lines of gleaming, white silver.
"This is the Light of Eärendil, and it carries within it some of that hallowed starlight," she explained and, very delicately, held the glass out to Ellana. "I crafted it, so that it might light a very dark path for a very unfortunate soul. I keep it with the hope that I might still give it to them, though I am becoming uncertain I will have the chance."
She looked up from the glass and stared at the Dalish elf at her side. The smile that glanced across her face was slight but honest.
"You do not need this light, not truly, and I cannot give it to you while it is still needed elsewhere. It is not of your empire, but it is a piece of the very heart of the Eldar. If it can grant you some reminder of elvendom, some hope, I would see that hope kindled."